Test Drive: Hyundai Sonata's 2nd verse sings

• Drivetrain%3A Smooth%2C pleasant -- something not all hybrids can claim
• Features%3A As any Sonata%2C it has a lot of content for the price
• MPG%3A Good in heavy-footed use%2C but lags rivals

From worst to first among hybrids. That could fairly be said of the Hyundai Sonata gasoline-electric model.

Launched as a 2011, it was dreadful to drive. The drivetrain was so herky-jerky it almost made an incorrigible CVT-hater long for one of those over-revving, sloppy-feeling continuously variable-ratio automatic transmissions.

Lean on the throttle in that first one and there'd be a pause, followed by more zoom than you meant, which continued its zoominess after you let off the throttle. Impossible to drive smoothly.

Heck, even the seats felt crummy, though that might have been as much a spillover of negative vibes as much as any real seating issue.

In fact, the 2011 seemed like an unfinished, pre-production vehicle. It was tough to imagine Hyundai, as they say in the trade, releasing it for commerce. And, you might have noticed, Hyundai didn't promote the Sonata's hybrid model much. You might not even have known there was one.

So here comes the 2013 with drivetrain changes almost too numerous to list, and some of them too technical to appreciate properly if you're not an engineer.

The result: a wonderful hybrid vehicle that has a base price — $26,445 — that's actually $100 less than the original 2011 when it was launched.

The 2013, on sale since March, has a more powerful electric motor that's in use more often than previously, a bigger-capacity battery pack and a gasoline engine re-tuned to integrate better with the electric part of the drivetrain.

Let's concede some points here:

By hybrid standards, the mileage isn't exceptional.

Though the base model is reasonable, the high-end Limited, which is the one you really want, is pricier than rivals' top models.

As a Sonata, the styling's distinctive, and you might not be on board with that look. And as the hybrid version, it has ugly Buck Rogers wheels and a clunky air-flow contraption under the rear bumper, well-meaning pieces meant to smooth airflow and thus improve mpg. But no better-looking for it.

As a stylist's goof, it has too much chrome trim.

In a wrong-headed attempt at sufficient gee-whiz appeal, it has some silly gauge readouts. That could be said about most hybrids, but it stands out in the generally sensible Sonata.

Well, you're no doubt wondering, why's it so good, then?

In short, it drives really well, and it doesn't use much fuel. It might not be best in any category, but it's probably the best overall package among the hybrids.

Key attributes:

Softer on the road than Ford's Fusion hybrid, crisper and tauter than Toyota Camry hybrid — probably the sweet spot preferable to a wide swath of drivers.

Well-furnished, as is typical of Hyundais. Examples of standard features optional on many midsize cars: dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, tilt/telescope steering column.

Straightforward controls. Those are getting hard to find as automakers think buyers want indecipherable, awkward-to-use controls buried in multiple layers of menus reached via touch-screen.

Sonata, though, muffs a basic on audio controls. While you get a fat knob for volume, the tuning is go-figure-it-out touch-screen-based.

Realistic mileage ratings. Nothing like Ford's claimed 47/47/47 mpg in city/highway/combined modes, or the 49 mpg that Honda says its Accord hybrid, coming late this year, will get. But the government numbers seem achievable in the Sonata hybrid (they seem not to be in the Fusion), and mpg consistently in the 30s seems exceptional.

Our lead-foot suburban zip hit about 30 mpg. Seemed too high for the driving style, but a repeat mpg test came within a few tenths of a mpg. A city-dwelling colleague took over, and the mileage reading rose to 34 mpg. Tantalizingly close to the federal rating of 37 or 38 mpg in combined city/highway use.

Head-on rival Ford Fusion hybrid got nearly 39 mpg in mixed use in Test Drive's hands. So if it's higher mileage you want in a midsize hybrid sedan, you won't be sold on Sonata. And Ford's got the crisp-driving thing down pretty well, if you prefer that to Sonata's more easy-going, bump-absorbing — but not at all sloppy — road manners.

Sweet shifting. That's one big reason why the Sonata hybrid feels so nice to drive.

The Sonata hybrid's transmission is a conventional six-speed, defined-ratio gearbox that Hyundai, finally, has tweaked to mate well to the gas-electric drivetrain. It is so encouraging to see a company eschew the CVT, even though continuously variable-ratio automatic transmissions seem to deliver a bit better mpg.

Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik dislikes CVTs about as much as Test Drive does, and has so far been able to spare us the dreadful CVT feel similar to driving a manual-transmission car with a slipping clutch. A bow of respect to Krafcik for his stand.

Test Drive believes that how a car feels to drive is more important than how much fuel it uses compared with its peers. In the universe of not-very-thirsty hybrids, it's fine to get "only" 30 mpg in heavy-footed use, as Sonata hybrid did, if the car in question is satisfying to drive, which Sonata hybrid definitely is.

HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID DETAILS

What? Needed upgrade of gasoline-electric hybrid model of midsize, four-door, front-drive sedan.

When? On sale since March.

Where? Made in South Korea.

How? Re-tune gas engine, use more-powerful electric motor and battery pack, revise everything from brake feel to how often car runs on electric motor alone.

How much? Starts at $26,445 with shipping. Limited is $31,345.

Who's the competition? Toyota Camry hybrid ($26,935-up), Ford Fusion hybrid ($27,995-up).

What makes it go? 2.4-liter gasoline engine rated 159 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, 154 pounds-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm; electric motor rated 47 hp. Combined rating is 199 hp at 5,500 rpm.

How big? Midsize, same as rivals. Battery cuts trunk to 12.1 cubic feet, from non-hybrid 16.4 cu. ft.

How thirsty? Rated 36 mpg in the city, 40 highway, 38 combined city/highway. (Limited, 37 mpg combined.)

Limited test car registered 30.3 mpg (3.3 gallons per 100 miles) in lead-foot suburban driving, rising to 34.4 mpg (2.91 gal./100 mi.) with significant city driving.

Burns regular, holds 17.2 gal.

Overall: Very satisfying.